THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 674, 23 April 1859, Page 5

THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT.

To (he Editor .of the Lyttelton Times.

Sir,—l cannot. but, feel that your detail of the lieart-rending accident, 'although of. the most innocent kind,' that befell poor- Joseph Strong on the 13th instant, and which appeared as the herald to a chapter of accidents in your issue of Saturday last,, strongly calls for an \answer;frorn some one to >tlle three following questions :—First—By whose .authority, and. how 'wasrit, that'the unfortunate as a lunatic—-was. placed among the hard labor gang? Secondly—What business had the ..warden to bring his carbine from the shoulder to'the secure when acting as sentry over these ; men ?— And thirdly—Had^that warden ever been taught how to carry his piece without the risk—nay, "certainty— of'innocently/shooting his prisoners or himself ? Now, Sir, I am dealing with a serious subject, in behalf of which I serioiisly ask your attention for a .remark or two.f .-, i t ; - v

, Perhaps may beja brother, perhaps a ";husTmrid, and if neither, y'pu surely ought to be a man that, as a man, can feel for another. • Well then, Sir, let me severely ask myself, you, or any Other being .impressed, with God's, image, what would our feelings be to find -that a dearly beloved wife, sister, or friend had been sent into the presence of their ;Maker, without a-moment's warning; through an x, accident 'of the most innocent kino* ?' Oh, Sir, I .^scarcely; dare.iiski myself the question ; but this much I do know—that, J should expect a fuller -enquiry into it than there, appears to have been, to ■ see how far "I could agree with that innocence. And in this case, I would say tliat, should the warden be Innocent of intent—which most assuredly I believe hiipto,be.—yet still is there much blame, to say the "least of it^ attachable somewhere and on some one. 'Theonatter simply resolves into this :—lf that warden had been riiade:acquainted witlf the true nature, of, his^duty, as a sentry, why. then, through the slovenly and careless .manner in which he dischargedit,and ; which doubtlessly caused the present -loss of life,- he stands before his arraigners culpable and ought to be punished. "But if on the other hand he had never been'made acquainted with his duty, but merely acted to.the best of his judgment on this unfortunate occasion, he then doubtlessly is innocent ; but not so the someone whose duty it was to see that he had known it before being entrusted with so responsible a post. • Had the same case occurred to A soldier of the line—although, perhaps, equally ; innocent—what would the consequences have been ? A general court-martial, and imprisonment for years, more or .less, if convicted of carelessness and disobedience of .orders. But if the finding of the Court went to prove that he had been returned fit,for duty, without his being so, and that a post of such responsibility had, been.entrusted to, a Johnny Raw, why then, Mr. Someone^ would have been reduced to the rank, and pay or be allowed to sell out for not knowing better ; and I must say, serve him jolly well right. 'But in the army such a thing'is next to an impossibility ; and in all my life I never knew a single instance of it to have occurred. There, if a sentry's piece should go off through its dangerous and insufficient'character it would "shoot mid-air. Again, Sir, why should a piece of such a character be given to a man for duty over a hard labor gang ? There are such authorized regulations—or rather ought to be—as inspections.of fire arms and accoutrements, both monthly and "quarterly, and consequent castings and .replacings. But I 'canvfind no excuse for what has occurred, so I can't make one. My- opinion is—and of course every' one is entitled to as much—that the piece may have been a bad one and all insufficient.;-, but its sending its contents into what it happened to he pointed at, or covered, was no proof of such, but rather the contrary. And again, had it been at, the "carry"— where it should have been—its going off would only have startled without 'innocently' killing. I think that not unlikely New Chum may define shortly a sentry's duty, be that sentry warder, policeman, or soldier; but until he does, I have heard it reported that a man or men paraded for escort duty should undergo one or more close inspections with arms ported and examined, and then, after the cold clear, ring of the latter in the prisoners' presence—they being, formed up in the tentre of the yard or 'guards', which/is thought to have a very salutary effect—he.or they, should be ordered to "with ball cartridge load.? That no charge should be suffered to remain in after the ex- , piration of the guard, but loaded fresh for each turn of duty, unless special exigency required otherwise, the exceptions to which would only refer to field practice of a very active nature; That all sentries should "carry" their arms, or occasionally "support them," but never "shoulder" or "secure" them: That tired they should stand properly at ease, fronting their charge, and at a well-judged distance from them, so as to anticipate a sudden rush in; , That every one—whether off /duty or, on duty—is Answerable for the efficiency of his piece and arms with accoutrements generally, as wejl as its state of keeping— a return of which is sent in the monthly states. That between the; monthly or quarterly examinations of arms,'anything going wrong should ne reported immediately, and there and then provided for. per requisition. But, Sir, I have said enough, Although not'a tithe of, what-might be said. Yet,, let me hope, sufficient!'to''lnduce, some one,to look, ftfter the armed police force so as to prevent them from innocently.shootingunoffehdi.ng.peoplethrough •either the doing duty with arms of a " dangerous and insufficient nature," or;through : carelessness.;. I finish with three questions which—if you think analogous in any way—l should like you to throw Rome light on in one of your well digested leaders:—

First.—ln the case of a ship going on shore what' course is adopted for ascertaining the cause? Second.—Ditto with an accident happening to a train ? • . Third. —Ditto to an official through whose want of vigilant caution loss of life or property is supposed to happen ? Yours very obediently, JUS. Christchurch, April 20, ;1859. :